The People Win !!!

…… It’s nice to see the little guy win once in a while ! …… Story follows !

…… For years, the South Middle River Neighborhood (north of Sunrise Boulevard, west of Andrews) has been amazingly burdened by a juvenile delinquent boys’home.

….The facility, funded by the State of Florida, is so poorly run, that when a burglary occurs in the neighborhood, the Police just automatically go to the facility – the Crescent House.

…….. The House (actually a collection of apartments) has produced so much crime over the last 6 years, that the City took the unusual step of asking a Judge last month to declare the facility a nuisance, so they can shut it down. The move is important, and possibly even precedent setting. At the hearing, about 50 neighbors showed up in red shirts and pleaded with the Judge to shut it down. They testified about finding burglars in their homes, drug paraphernalia in the swale, brawls in the intersections.

…. On the other side of the aisle were high priced attorneys for the State and the facility, decrying the move, saying it should be kept open for the “children”.

….One such “child”, Cedric Camper, now 19, had racked up 53 felony charges while living at the “house”, no kidding ! He was finally shipped up state, but other young criminals filled the void.

…. Now the good news ! …. Word has it that on Monday, the Judge will indeed declare the facility a nuisance and against the area zoning, which should be enough to close the facility. Appeals are expected, but this is a big win for South Middle River, and the city of Fort Lauderdale.

….. The neighborhood deserves major recognition for staying after it all these years, not giving up, and their leader in the fight, Sal Gatanio, should just be declared a saint !

Sal

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4 Replies to “The People Win !!!”

Sal Gatanio is a force to be dealt with and I am so honored to have been able to see him in action and his dedication to our community and all his hard work in Shutting It Down! What people may not understand is that this community has residents that care about what will happen to these abandoned children next. Our community is not some heartless or apathetic group of people that were angry at these innocent children, we were more concerned about the neglect of these children that led to all the crimes reported and documented that involved the children that lived in this home. This issue has hopefully come to an end in our community but it continues in other houses across our country where it has also been noted and documented that these children are not being given the tools needed to become exemplary citizens when they have become of age and into adulthood. The way they are being handled only leads to lives of crime in an already over burdened prison system that has become an embarrassment to our land of the free. God Job Sal! Shout out also to Gregg Pentecost who found code violations that could not be denied! This is what democracy looks like! #OpExposeCPS

Congratulations to all of the tireless community activists in South Middle River who never stop working for a better quality of life for all their neighbors. Kudos to Sal who is indeed one tough cookie who never gives up and is relentless in his efforts. District Commissioner Dean Trantalis did a great job in getting the City on Board and everyone is to be commended. No one should live in fear of what so many in this neighborhood put up with on a daily basis. Enough is enough. I would like to see how the state, the facility, the attorneys, and the “child” advocates would act if this facility was next to their home!

I am sorry but I was there at City Hall meetings when the zoning to overburden my neighborhood was thrice discussed n except for Commissioner Trantalis n me no one questioned the underlying zoning that permits this n other such spots. The turnout (I was there) was great but pointless as the convoluted contracting system used to foist this n other places can only be changed by the State Legislature n of course this meeting was scheduled when the State Legislature was dealing with reappointionment n no one who could actually do something could attend. The truth is the total lack of interest in both local politics and state politics just means if this disaster is closed THE STATE CAN OPEN OTHERS because neither zoning funding or contracting rules have been changed. Good Luck to the SMR Civic Assn but they really are battling one minor issue and ignoring the major issues of zoning funding n contracting as well as never showing up when it counts on these three major issues

INDEED, KUDOS TO ALL. TIM, THANKS FOR RE-EMERGING. THIS EFFORT NEEDS TO BE TAKEN TO TALLAHASSEE. APPLICABLE STATUTES SHOULD BE REVISED BUT, MORE IMPORTANTLY, THE PEOPLE OVERSEEING AND ADMINISTERING THE PROGRAMS NEED TO BE CHANGED. J. SWANSON SAYS IT WELL. WAREHOUSING THESE YOUNG PEOPLE, WITHOUT DIRECT INTERVENTION TO ADDRESS THE UNDERLYING BEHAVIOR, IS A PATH TO SOMETHING WORSE. THE DAILY COST OF HOUSING OUR PRISONS IS MORE THAN A STAY AT THE W AND A LOT LESS PLEASANT. jcb